The San Francisco 49ers are hitting the field on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, coming off a bye week, and they’ll have their new addition on the defensive line with them. Recently traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner is set to make his 49ers return, marking his first game in San Francisco uniform since the 2019 Super Bowl.
Buckner, 32, has long been known as a quality pass rusher with a unique size-length profile at 6’7, and will hope to add some of that to a young defensive tackle room
that also includes Osa Odighizuwa. Now, the 49ers have their two veterans, along with rookie Gracen Halton and former undrafted free agent Sebastian Valdez as their top depth.
With the Indianapolis Colts, Buckner had a top five snap count among defensive tackles this season. With the 49ers, that’ll hopefully drop as the 49ers rotate their linemen more. But, with Buckner and Odighizuwa both having familiarity playing as three-techniques, how will the 49ers use Buckner in his return?
“We’ve done so many different things, moved people around,” defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said. “They have the ability to play three-technique. They have the ability to play nose. They have the ability to play four-eye, the ability to play on the edge. You’ve kind of seen these guys kind of move around all over the place, so I wouldn’t really put them in a bucket.
“You’re talking about a guy with supreme talent. Those guys kind of can do whatever you ask them to do. Traditionally he’s been a three-technique around here, playing a huge role and doing some really good things. He’ll do a lot of the same thing. I’m a big believer in doing what people do really well and we’ll try to find out what he does really well again, implement them to what the guys have been doing and put those guys together and put them out there playing fast.”
The 49ers have regularly been moving players around, kicking some of their bigger edges inside, while also creating different ways to rush the passer. The creativity should increase with Nick Bosa also trending to play, but it doesn’t seem like Morris is concerned with the usage.
San Francisco has been without Bosa for a few weeks now, and their pass rush has struggled a bit as a result. Now, with him and Buckner both likely in the fold this week, what will that do for the defense?
“I don’t know when it would be a bad time to get a guy like Buck,” Morris added. “It’s been a lot of fun to meet him the last couple of days and be around him and watch him practice and put him a part of it. Really feel like I’m further away from it than he is because of how long he spent here and the time that he spent here and how much he means to this organization and the people around him.
“So, it’s been a lot of fun being around that guy and to have that whole unit being able to come back relatively healthy. To see these guys (Buckner and Bosa) probably for the first time altogether, I think altogether, for the first time this year, I think it’d be a lot of fun.”
Now, the 49ers have two veterans in their defensive tackle room, which should only help in the development of younger guys like Mykel Williams, Halton, Valdez, Romello Height, and the rest of the room.
“Buck’s done it at a very high level for such a long time,” Morris continued. “I don’t know if there’s anybody in this building that can’t pick something up from him. I just know how much, let’s just go with the ultimate leader in Fred [Warner] and [Dre] Greenlaw, how much respect those guys have for him. So when you’re talking about guys that have done a lot of really cool things at different positions that can learn from him, you can only imagine what the guys up front can get from him, just those guys being together.
“Having Osa being a vet and then having Buck come in with some different perspective, different realities of what he’s been through and what he’s done. To be able to come back into the fold and really pick it back up and fit right back in with the guy that’s coached him, guys that he’s familiar with, whether it be the head coach or his position coach, I think is always a really good thing.”
The Niners will kick things off against the Raiders this weekend as they look to start the second half of the season hot. We’ll get to see how Buckner looks returning to the 49ers, and whether the team still needs to make another move ahead of the deadline.
